Roses are Red
by FrozenFreljord
Summary: In Noxus, the strong rule and the weak die, so it is expected that Noxians are selfish. And much like the discipline indoctrinated into her from her early childhood, selfishness is learned at an age all too young. Use others for your own benefit, and always assume they are doing the same.
1. Cleansing

Katarina was lying on her bed, absentmindedly tossing her blade into the ceiling of her room, when a tapping on her window awoke her from her daze. She slid from her bed and opened her window, shocked to see three black roses impaled through the glass panes of her window. Was someone trying to threaten her? Who would be stupid enough to threaten any member of the Du Couteau? Didn't they know being caught by a member of this family meant certain death?

But then, the matron of the Black Rose was not someone that would ever get caught doing anything.

-LOL-

When Katarina awoke from her nap (she never sleeps because she can't afford to), the moonlight was shining dimly into her room. The figure sitting on her desk looked on to her with wide, questioning eyes. Then she smiled slyly, sliding off the desk to strut towards her, swinging her shapely hips like a pendulum towards the still bed-bound Katarina.

The mysterious raven-haired beauty climbed on her bed, and straddled Katarina, pinching her chin and raising her eyes to meet her assailant. Katarina's eyes widened, the touch awakening her from her reverie, moved to get out of her grasp, only to find that her body no longer responded to her thoughts. The woman saw her internal struggle, and giggled quietly, before leaning back down to whisper hotly into her ear. 'Stay. Be a good girl.'

The warm breath that tickled her ear sent shivers down Katarina's spine, but as uncomfortable as being in a submissive position made her, her arms felt like leaden weights, and were completely unresponsive to her will. So she sat there, resigned to her fate.

The woman saw the fight drain from Katarina, and she smiled to herself. 'I can help you. I know things you want you hear. We can help each other. Don't you want that, my dear...' the woman breathed into her ear '... kitty? Together we can change everything. Do you want that?'

It takes a few seconds, but the red-haired assassin realised she could speak again. After this revelation, she gritted her teeth to force out and angered 'What do you want?'. After hearing the question, the raven-haired woman smiled quietly, and sat back, finally giving Katarina some breathing space. 'I want your help Katarina. I can get what I want, and you can get what you want. What do you want to know Katarina?'

Father. 'Nothing, you freak. Leave this mansion immediately before I call my family and kill you.'

The curvaceous woman sitting before her merely chuckled, and somehow getting further and further under her skin. 'You can call all you want, kitty, but no one is coming. I didn't want any unwanted... interruptions. So what do you say, before I leave? I must leave soon, as much I would love to spend more time with my favorite kitty.'

Katarina grit her teeth and hissed out venomously 'Fine. I will.'

The woman smiled and slid off Katarina and the bed, sauntering towards the window, before winking at Katarina and blowing her a kiss. 'Then I will hold your promise to you. I look forwards to working with you. Kitty.'

Katarina, in a blaze of anger, pulled out her daggers and hurled it at the woman, impaling all three of her daggers in her chest. The woman did nothing but gape at the assassin incredulously. Katarina stared at the hands that refused to move just seconds before.

But Katarina should have watched the woman for the woman just coughed, rivulets of blood spurted from her wounds and mouth. But otherwise, seemingly unperturbed, she chuckled and said a line that made Katarina regret landing her killing blows. 'I will go and say hello for you. To Markus.'

And with that, she died. Katarina grabbed her corpse in fury, screaming desperately at the dead woman. 'What did you do to my father? Where is he? Tell me!', with no response from the corpse. Katarina could do nothing but sob and weep, hands clutching the one key she had to unlocking the mystery of her father's disappearance, and the woman who knew it ended with her own two hands.

Had she noticed, very carefully, she would have noticed the six eyed bird watching the spectacle with a careful eye.

-LOL-

Cassiopeia sat down to talk to her beloved sister, instantly noticing the deathly aura and anger surrounding the assassin who had returned to the Institute after the trip to Noxus. Katarina looked worse for wear, and the dark rims that surrounded her eyes proved it. 'How was the trip, darling? Why are you looking exceptionally beautiful today?' The knives that appeared in the assassin's hand did nothing but fuel Cassiopeia's laughter. The venomous glare that threatened to bore holes into her head did little to put the serpentine woman off. 'What did you do this time? Did you kill anoth-'

'Father. I found a key to Father.'

Cassiopeia immediate stopped her line of thought and hissed at her sister. 'What happened? What happened. TELL-'

'She's dead. I killed her.'

Cassiopeia could believe her ears. For years upon years, she and her sister gathered info about their father's possible disappearance. They went through all the leads. The travelled Runeterra, searching for any details that involved her father. The blood they shed, the men and women they tortured and the buildings they ransacked in the name of information. All that with so little information. And suddenly a woman that KNOWS? And now she died. Cassiopeia was unforgiving to anyone but her sister, though it was uncertain how much longer that morality would last.

'YOU DID WHAT? What do you mean, you killed her? What… why… what is WRONG with you? You IMBECILE! What did she know? We tried so hard, and we waited so long for an opportunity, but here you are, KILLING our leads! We... we... For fuck's sake!' Cassiopeia started to wheeze and puff, finally starting to calm down.

Katarina did nothing, but take it. After all, it was her who dashed all hopes that they may get their father back. But after the rant, she was getting impatient. 'Well, I didn't know who she was! She was just THERE, sitting and watching me sleep,' Which is weird enough, considering I sleep light enough for a rat's footstep to wake me, 'and I'm weird for having a reaction to that?'

'What?'

Katarina sighed, unwilling to remind herself of that night but unsure how else to explain the bizarre happenings of the night. So she steeled herself and told Cassiopeia. She told her every minute detail, the entire conversation recounted word for word. She recounted the way she called her kitty like she knew her, the her sensuous voice and her magic. That magic that could render Katarina helpless in front of the woman, in more ways that one. If it was just anyone who heard the recounting of the tale, it would almost be concerning in how much detail Katarina remembered it. But Cassiopeia knew that it wasn't because her sister was obsessed with it, it was because she had it drilled into her memory as it replayed itself over and over again in her sleep, cursing Katarina to nights of restless sleep.

Cassiopeia was silent. She had no idea what to make of this. She expected it to be normal and simple. There was a perpetrator (Katarina) and there was the victim (the key). Katarina killed the woman before she said anything. As a result, they now have a body and an neverending sense of emptiness that stemmed from the murder. See, easy. One plus one was two. It would have been so much better had it been linear.

If everything added up, Cassiopeia would have been sated. But one question answered led to more being asked. Of course, who is she? Why does she know Markus? What is that magic she used? How did she get into the room without waking Katarina? But most importantly of all, why did she die? She had the power to stop Katarina, and with her magic, it should have been simple. It seemed to be a simple mistake, letting Katarina free; however, there are many people who play games that delve deeply into the human psyche, and as much as she'd like to be a monster, these games are proof of her and Katarina's more human side.

Katarina didn't want to think anymore. Maybe it was true that she killed the key, maybe it was not. Whether she is dead or not no longer bothers her, so rather than the state of the woman, she must know the answer for the other questions. She was the first, but won't be the last. When a normal human walks, Katarina knows. Thudding footsteps, breathing, scraping shoes on carpet, not the silence that enveloped the woman. Katarina doesn't know. Either it's herself to blame, or if it's because of her. But now it doesn't matter, because it's bad either way.

Katarina lifted her head to catch Swain looking at her, his mask of superiority and calmness covering any underlying emotions. But she knew he was not looking for the sake of watching, he was searching. For what, Katarina would not know. Swain does things his way so Katarina doesn't care. She cares little for what Jericho does, because though she works under him, she does not work for him. She does what she does, and she leaves Swain to do the same. In Noxus, the strong rule and the weak die, so it is expected that Noxians are selfish. And much like the discipline indoctrinated into her from her early childhood, selfishness is learned at an age all too young. Use others for your own benefit, and always assume they are doing the same.

Katarina held Swain's withering stare, but soon, he nodded, turned back and stood up, leaving the room, leaving her bemused and concerned. So long as his plans didn't interfere with her and Cassiopeia's, it was fine. But she knows that it does, and it worries her.

-LOL-

Katarina did not have a good night. Predictably. It was not made a habit that night-terror haunted her every night, so it was surprising when it happened the first time after the Cleansing. She called the murder the Cleansing to spare herself the bouts of self deprecation that followed the event. But now they refused to leave her. It would be of the same thing every time, every night.

It would start with roses, black roses (Of course it would. It describes the situation perfectly), followed by her face. Not Katarina's, oh no. It would be her smiling eyes, blood leaking from her pursed lips locked in a victorious smile. The scene itself was nothing but a failure for the woman, though she smiled on, staring at Katarina through empty eyes. The glossy pupils indicated her untimely demise, though Katarina had the distinct feeling she was being watched. She was an assassin. She knew she was. If she didn't she would be dead. Though why she wasn't dead right now was completely beyond Katarina right now.

Then came the whispering, the whispering that both taught her everything, yet nothing came of it. If she didn't know better, she would dismiss it as ramblings of her own deteriorating mind, but she knew the voice intimately, it having whispered promises and opportunities in her ear. It was like smoke, both there, but intangible. Katarina did not know whether it was real, only that it was there. So she listened.

She never knows what she hears, only that it is important. She doesn't remember what it is, only that she must remember it. But whatever she hears, it must be horrific. For every night, without fail, she wakes up in cold sweat.


	2. The Grand General

Swain paces, well, hobbles around the meeting room. The air of superiority didn't diminish even in the slightest with his injury. Well, not surprisingly. All those who did think he was weak were killed in twisted and unimaginable ways.

Katarina watches him pace, wondering what this meeting is going to be about. It isn't so uncommon to watch him pace. It isn't even uncommon for the Grand General to be muttering under his breath, even though it be normal on a raving madman. Katarina could sometimes swear he is, and Riven's current status is much proof of it. But it must not be forgotten that he is clever, and there will ALWAYS be method to his madness.

Like the majority of the Noxian champions in the room, she is ridiculously bored. It's not because the actual material of the meeting was particularly boring, rather that there was really no meeting, just a Swain making a show of his ability to frantically hobble across a room. The Deceiver was, surprisingly and unsurprisingly, not there. Well, she doesn't have to be there. She doesn't need to be there to know what happened in the meeting. Knowing her (relatively, because it seems that no one knows her), she already knows what would happen in the meeting, most likely way before the meeting itself happened. The how is beyond Katarina, but she is allowed to do what she wants, as long as she doesn't interfere.

Swain still doesn't stop.

Eventually, Katarina thinks, she will die from boredom. And at this rate, thirst and starvation too. She looks around the room, and sees the occupants of the room doing their own thing. Darius was sharpening his axe using a large white whetstone that she suspects may have been made from Carmen, Darius's (ex)superior. Draven is doing… whatever Draven does. All Katarina knows is that it involves his shiny axes, his ugly mug and other disturbing things that should never be let out into the daylight. Vladimir is having fun, she thinks, waving his hand around with a self-satisfied grin adorning his face. He may be having fun but someone out there, whose body will be found with multiple puncture wounds, is not.

Everything is fine, until Katarina's gaze lands on her serpentine sister. Cassiopeia is staring at her blankly, which is fine, but Cassiopeia NEVER does that. That kind of behavior is the actions of a possessed person or dead person. She scowled at the woman(?), and she scowled back. Finally. THERE was the Cassiopeia that she knew and loved.

Swain stopped. And turned. That's Katarina's cue to stop making faces with her _dear_ sister and strap herself in. It was going to be interesting.

'You are are the faces of Noxus, and all of you are strong. If you weren't, you would be dead.' Katarina started to tune Swain's voice out. One can only hear this speech so many times before it starts to lose its meaning. 'But I know that someone here will kill me.' Katarina was back onboard again. _This_ was new. 'And I will stop them. I am not here to dissuade you, but I am just a reminder. Once I am no longer strong, I will die. But until then, I will not hesitate to kill you'.

Well that's fucking ominous.

Katarina wonders what Swain saw, but then she realised that she's trying to figure out _Swain_. She's not stupid, and she knows he isn't either. She has no idea how many different scenarios Swain ran through his head before he came up with that observation. But what surprised her was that all of them ended with him dying, or he wouldn't have said it. And another thing that surprises her is that he knows he will be outplayed. But to her knowledge (key words being: to her knowledge), there is no human on this planet that can really outplay him. Swain thinks too much, so much it's basically impossible to surprise him. Shiny Boy and his golden fucking stripper pole can't hold a candle to Swain's genius, but then she's also sure Shiny Boy can have his brainpower outmatched by unintelligent rock (keeping Malphite in mind). He's tried, mind you, but failed.

Actually, she thinks she may know. The Black Rose have been 'servicing' Noxus for centuries now, so everyone knows them. However, no one knows anything _about_ them. They only hear of the bodies and 'mysterious and unfortunate' disappearances of other leaders from the enemies of Noxus. Swain is good at chess, but not even Swain can beat an enemy where all of _her_ pieces are invisible and have you one move from checkmate at all times. And by the looks of it, he knows.

Swain's pause unnerves everyone, especially Katarina. It's not that she's particularly scared of him, it's just that he's STARING STRAIGHT AT HER. What the hell is with everyone and staring at her these days?

Swain continues his speech. 'Noxus is a proud nation, and we are bright. We are bright enough to realise that we cannot take on the world by ourselves. Not yet. She will though, in due time. I have made alliances with some other countries that seem will aid us,' _Zaun. Out of all the countries, Swain picks the country where batshit crazy was invented. Riven can testify. Seriously, we get it, Zaun sucks, you can stop screaming in your sleep every night now._ 'and some people may be… _unappreciative_ of it.' _No fucking shit._ 'Remember, the Institute immunity only applies if they can find the killer.' _Well,_ he _doesn't want anyone to meddle with his plans._

To the credit of the members of the meeting, none of even bats an eye. It wasn't as if none of them knew; half of the League would be dead if the immunity didn't apply. Actually, Draven would also be dead, courtesy of Katarina.

'Meeting dismissed'

Everybody slowly rose and stretches, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. No one in the room, except Swain, got into their position with politics and diplomacy. They killed hundreds to get to their position, so it was no wonder that a meeting about something that didn't include the mass slaughter of a nation would bore them senseless. They get up to leave the room before a cold voice stops them.

'Katarina.'

The ones that weren't Katarina shrug and exits the room, leaving Katarina to deal with the Master Tactician.

Swain waits until the rest of them leaves, before waiting some more.

'You can go.'

 _Well, fuck._

-LOL-

Katarina watches from her lane, mindlessly throwing daggers at the minions that clashed together. They actually look kind of cute, in their blue and red robes, with their miniature weapons of minimal destruction. She sort of admires them, staring at them with a temptation to hug them (in a way that Noxian assassin ought NOT to), before stabbing them through the face with her blade (in the way that a Noxian assassin ought to. Stabbing cute things in the face was something she did).

'Katarina'

 _For fuck's sake,_

'Leblanc.'

Then she smiles. On someone as mysterious and _creepy_ as Leblanc, the smile doesn't look happy, she looks pleased. But not the ' _I'm having a pleasant day_ ' kind of pleased, rather the kind of pleased a serial killer would be after they admire the body that they cut into pieces with a hacksaw. Knowing Leblanc, that would not be too far from reality. Well, no-one will know until somewhere into the next week or so.

Katarina shudders. Though she has assassinated plenty of people (she is a Noxian AND a assassin), the fact that no one knows how she does it scares her. People know how Katarina kills; she kills quietly, and the victim doesn't know, ever. But at least, there is the blade marks and other earthly signs that show her masterpiece. But with Leblanc… no one knows. She's like a magician, and a magician NEVER shows how she does her tricks.

God works in mysterious ways.

So Katarina doesn't respond, only to continue farming in lane. Katarina can see that Leblanc is still smiling eerily, so she avoids all eye contact with the illusionist. The Illusionist doesn't mind her. Why would she? Leblanc already knows everything she wants to know. But would it hurt to ask about…

'That's an interesting question. Why would I know anything about Markus?'

Katarina froze, head-bashing minions totally forgotten. _How the fu_ …Katarina could do nothing but stare at the woman who still smiled pleasantly like she didn't just read Katarina's mind. Katarina was not even sure why she was surprised, because she's sure that _centuries_ of first hand experience can make almost anyone psychic. And Leblanc isn't just _anyone_ either. She's the mistress and _the_ founder of the Black Rose, the one that did everything for Noxus, and somehow no one know what exactly what they did. They've _heard_ , but _everyone's_ heard _something_.

But she knows that Leblanc does what she does for Leblanc. She is a Noxian after all, and ALL Noxians knows this phrase like it's a prayer or something idiomatic: use others for your own benefit, and always assume they are doing the same. Selfishness is something that is indoctrinated to all Noxians and those who don't accept it die.

Katarina grits her teeth and keeps throwing her dagger, pointedly ignoring the other woman. Leblanc, however, did not care and continues to watch her, albeit a little disturbingly. Leblanc started to talk to herself, musing about unimportant things. It was loud and deliberate, like she wants Katarina to hear. Well, the only reason that she can hear Leblanc muse is because Leblanc is letting her and wants her to hear. Well, though Katarina is almost certain that Leblanc is lying to her, she still wants to know. Leblanc is possibly the only woman that knows anything about her father, save for THAT woman.

'If I was Markus, what would I do? Could I die, knowing that I can stop it? Maybe, maybe not. The member of the Du Couteau that houses two of the most renown assassins in the Institution, dead at the hands of an assassin?' Katarina continues to listen to the Deceiver's speech, both intrigued and irritated. 'How would it be possible? Who has the power to do so? One of the strongest in the Noxus, and the world. No-one can kill someone like that. Isn't that right, Katarina?'

Katarina nods imperceptibly, then stands stock still. She basically just shouted as loud as she could to Leblanc that she was paying attention to all that drivel that spewed out of Leblanc's mouth. Leblanc just smils cordially, with an apologetic smile while all the while making it obvious that Leblanc was just fucking with her. 'I'm sorry Katarina. I'm sorry to remind you of your father. He was lovely, -' _Not how I would describe one of the most powerful assassins in Noxian history_ 'and would be sorely missed by _most._ '

'So how was your day, Lady Du Couteau? I have seen you around, and I have to yet to see you smile. You look prettier that wa- Touchy, are we?' Leblanc chuckled as Katarina's dagger bounced past her.

'What do you want? I know you want something from me. You tend to play around with your food a lot.'

Leblanc laughs, in a voice that echoes from around her. _Strange._ 'What do I want, child? I don't want anything from _you_. You see, I have a goal, therefore, I have a future. Do you? Your future cannot be restricted to your father, can it? You can solve it, but not by yourselves. Because the remaining two people who know are not just yours truly. And I'm not talking about Evangeline, who I'm sure you have acquainted yourself with.'

Leblanc knows. Of course she fucking knows. And who the fuck is Evangeline? _Oh. Her._ Wait, what does she mean, Evangeline doesn't know? Then, who else knows? Who else has eyes everywhere, and knows some secret shit that nobody knows?

 _Who the fuck do you think? Idiot._

A roar echoes as a great white bear runs through the lane towards Katarina. Leblanc tuts and snares the ursine in a magical cage. Katarina became both confused as to how on _Runeterra_ she managed to both attack her _teammate_ and use an ability that _wasn't in her skillset._ Actually, why is she even surprised? It's Leblanc. Shit happens around Leblanc.

'Please, I am trying to talking with a beautiful young lady. Please don't interrupt.'

Katarina stares at Leblanc, still slightly unbelieving. Leblanc chuckles menacingly, dismissively waving her hand. 'I'm not the only one who has killed a Du Couteau.'

 _Fucking Swain._


	3. The Revival of the Magician

She was getting used to her night-terrors, each and every one the same, but what she did not expect to happen was for the nightmares to change. Knowing the name of the woman she murdered did not placate her in the least. In fact, her dreams started to change. It was no longer the woman who talked to her, it was Evangeline. Evangeline, the woman who would no longer give her advice she would never receive, but would now resort to taunting and laughing at Katarina.

She can remember these words, however. Other than the blood that dripped down her chin in crimson rivulets, there were poisons that spewed from her mouth. It was not physical, oh no, however, the poison were in the form of words. Katarina would like to wipe that smirk off Evangeline's face, but she couldn't do anything but listen.

 _Who did you think it was? It should be so obvious. So what are you going to do?_

* * *

Swain nodded. 'That is exactly where you shall go. You are to leave by yourself today, and with the assistance of the Black Rose, you shall track the blueprint of the electron conversion accelerator, and also steal it from Piltovan Hextech Technological and Research Facilities. It is essential that you are NOT caught by Piltovan authorities. The last thing that we need now a full investigation of a matter that, not only will put us in a bad light, but could also alert Demacian and Piltovan officials of possible plans between us and the Zuanites.'

Katarina was stunned. It wasn't because she was told to go to a foreign land to do some really shady stuff (because let's face it, she IS an assassin). Shady stuff is basically her job. But the fact that he sent her with the Black Rose worried her. The Black Rose never co-operated with _anyone_. If the Black Rose did not want to assist, it somehow made itself conveniently unavailable or it simply disappeared. If the Black Rose was to assist her, it was purely because it _wanted_ to. Even Swain couldn't tell them what to do.

Katarina should feel honoured and confused, but honestly, she's not sure she does. In fact, she scared _shitless_. Most likely, the Black Rose was there to keep an eye on her. Make sure she does go off and scheme against Swain, but she isn't sure. Well, if the Black Rose was predictable, they wouldn't have their notorious ability to surprise everyone and everything.

Katarina solemnly nodded, accepting her fate, not sure if she should just take this as a sign from God to run the _fuck_ away to some obscure corner of Runeterra and live a life as a farmer. _I could own pigs. I like pigs._

Swain stared at her in silence, silently judging her and daring her to contradict him in any way. She couldn't, of course, having to school her features into her normally grim demeanour and stared back at him. She dared not to show any sign of being intimidated, or any kind of weakness whatsoever even though the guy in front of her could literally kill her without lifting a finger. Finally, Katarina grew impatient with Swain and snarled at him, while somewhere at the back of her mind hoping she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life (which was probably going to end horribly and painfully within the next three to four seconds).

But she did not expect what happened next. At this action, the Grand General of Noxus smiled. _What._ 'I'm glad it is you, Katarina. I thought something had happened to you. I feared that you were no longer here.'

 _Again, what the fuck? I'm literally right in front of you._

'Whatever you do, always keep me in mind. Always remember where I am, and where I stand.'

The Sinister Blade froze, recoiling slightly at the thinly veiled threat that was thrown at her. Every little move she do from now on will now be scrutinized and analyzed, nick-picked for the slightest sign that something was amiss. Katarina had no idea why Swain had such a sudden interest in her, and such obvious suspicion of her. What she had done to warrant such attention, she did not know, but all she knew was that she will now be treading on thin ice, where one wrong step will land her in the water and be devoured by the Swain-shaped sharks staring at her hungrily.

Katarina finally nodded after contemplating her life choices, and Swain also nodded.

'I want you back by next Friday. If you have any questions, ask the Black Rose.'

A knocking at the door brought both their attention to it. Swain looked at the door momentarily and turned to look at the assassin, nodding slowly. Katarina saw the glint in Swain's eyes. _Well, this is gonna be bad._ 'This is someone you should become acquainted with. And I'm sure you have also known intimately.'

And of course, the woman of her dreams walks in. _Evangeline._ The woman that Katarina is very, _very_ sure she impaled through her forehead. Her dreams serve to remind her of that daily. Following closely the ex-dead woman, was a very smug and very amused LeBlanc. LeBlanc and Evangeline both winked at Katarina, making her nearly jump on to the two of them and tear their throats out of their body.

LeBlanc walked over to Swain and started to discuss the plans of the fight. Or at least that was what Katarina thought. Swain did not look happy to see LeBlanc. Behind his cordial smiles and his polite greetings, there was a swirling storm of anger that seemed to cloud the room. However, LeBlanc looked genuinely happy to see him, smiling and talking, eyes crinkling in actual mirth. Katarina continued to study the two, and she was surprised. She would have expect for Swain to be pleased to see LeBlanc, but she did not expect to see Swain's smile beginning to crumble, his patience wearing thin. However, LeBlanc did not appear it notice this, as she went on and on, only to stop abruptly when she saw Swain's face cloud into barely suppressed anger.

 _Weird for LeBlanc to not notice something._

LeBlanc saw and straightened up, and gave a lingering smile to Swain, before vanishing into thin air.

Katarina turned around to see a very curvaceous raven-haired beauty leering at her in a sultry fashion. Katarina, however, was much less happy seeing the woman, and more than a little bit angry at her. The redhead let her hand fall to her daggers, glaring menacingly. Instead of recoiling in fear or freezing at her bold attempts to scare now-living woman, Evangeline merely smirked, her plump lips curving into the most sensual smirk Katarina has ever seen.

 _Holy fuck. She is actually scaring the shit out of me. I'm like a piece of meat to her._

Katarina then proceeded to pull out her daggers and waved it menacingly at Evangeline. The raven-hair beauty just put her hands to her head and swooned. She actually _swooned_. Here she was swooning, standing in front of an assassin who was waving her daggers around erratically, and she has the fucking audacity to not be scared. She is actually scaring Katarina, as the woman obviously has more than a few screws loose.

Evangeline looked back up at Katarina through her thick eyelashes, her indescribably irritating face splitting into a Cheshire grin. 'I look forward to working with you again, _kitty_.'

Katarina stood there shocked, repeatedly swiping the air in front of her with her daggers.

'How are you not dead? I literally stabbed you in the face. I buried you myself. What the actual fuck?'

Evangeline giggled brightly, holding her hand to her mouth, as if she was a dainty flower. A dainty flower that wouldn't die if she was stabbed and mutilated and had her cold, lifeless corpse burnt in an incinerator that Katarina denies having. Evangeline flicked her hair behind her and smirked, sending chills down Katarina's spine.

'Am I dead? Or am I alive? How can you be sure that I am either?'

With that, the magician started laughing maniacally, leaving a confused and stunned Katarina standing there with one eyebrow cocked up and a frown on her lips. What the hell is happening? What does she mean she could be dead or alive? Katarina's had plenty of experience with murder and she can't remember the last time one of her victims started to laugh at being murdered. But she was watching the actual, living (?) proof that it could actually happen.

Katarina gathered her nerves and stared back at the woman.

'What the hell do you-'

' **Ahem'**

Evangeline immediately stopped laughing and straightened up. Katarina's head snapped towards Swain, who stood there, his hand tense around his cane. Swain was glaring at them now, mostly at Evangeline, but enough attention was fixated on Katarina to make her nervous. The grand general's words were quite, but the sound easily travelled through the suddenly dead quiet room.

'This job is to be accomplished. I will know if you did something, and if I find out anything happened...'

Although the ending was dropped, the obvious threat floated around the room. Katarina started to sweat. She was too young and deadly to die yet. She still had so much to live for. She did not want to die yet. Katarina looked at Evangeline at saw the last thing she thought she would ever see.

Evangeline was trying not to laugh. The scariest man in Noxus was threatening her, and here she was, desperately trying not to laugh. Swain glared at the raven haired woman incredulously, a face like thunder, two seconds from lashing out and obliterating her. It should have reduced any same human being into tears, and it was work for Evangeline, just in the opposite direction that Swain had hoped for. Evangeline finally coughed, clearing any sign of her mirth from seconds before.

Evangeline nodded to Swain, a trained, cordial smile plastered on her face, any sign of her prior emotions vanished without a trace. Evangeline mock-saluted the General, which caused a cracking sound to escape from the cane. The magician turned her head and winked at Katarina, which in turn caused Katarina to pull out her blades and wave it at her, causing Evangeline to giggle.

Finally, the magician took her leave and strutted towards the door, shapely hips (that Katarina would never, ever stare at) swinging like a pendulum. When the woman reached the door, she opened it, turned back and blew a kiss back to Katarina.

'It'll be my pleasure to work alongside you, kitty.'

The daggers that Katarina held onto so tightly during this whole spectacle finally left her hand and it landed where Evangeline's head would have been, if the door had not slammed shut and blocked Katarina's daggers.

It was the first time that Katarina had seen a face on Swain that wasn't either anger, seriousness or a cordial politeness. Swain was confused. It was both the funniest and most alarming thing she had ever seen.

If Swain, the grandmaster of people manipulation and reading emotions, was confused by Evangeline, which means something is just _wrong._ Swain was so caught up in his own emotions that he actually let some of his actual feelings through. But that doesn't make sense; if he had been working with the red rose for such a long time, why was he so… _unfamiliar_ with Evangeline?

Unless... Leblanc only picked her up recently.

It really felt like the Black Rose was targeting her, with Evangeline constantly playing with her. What for?

She could feel eye eyes threatening to bore holes into the side of her head so Katarina turned to see Swain and Beatrice glaring at her, eyes glinting angrily. Katarina glared back indignantly, in the fashion that she was most well known for.

 _And what the_ hell _do you want?_

Swain stared at her for a few more minutes, letting the tension that had been stewing in the room envelope them. When he finally spoke, the suddenness of his words startled Katarina.

'I will see you again.'

With that, Swain walked out of the room, door slamming loudly shut behind him.

 _Fucking Leblanc._


End file.
